Evaluation of herbicide efficacy and its impact on growth and yield components of green gram (Vigna radiata L.)

A field experiment was conducted during February–April, 2024 at the Experimental Farm, Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar, to evaluate the efficacy of herbicides on growth and yield components of green gram. The experiment consisted of Eleven treatments laid out in a randomized block design with three replications. Among the herbicidal treatments, the sequential application of Pendimethalin @ 1 kg a.i. ha^-1 at 3 DAS (pre-emergence) followed by propaquizafop @ 50 g a.i. ha^-1 at 20 DAS (post-emergence) (T8) recorded the highest values for plant height (44.59 cm), leaf area index (2.95 at 45 DAS and 2.74 at harvest), crop dry matter production (1699 kg ha^-1), number of pods plant-1 (9.06), number of grains pod-1 (8.57), pod length (6.05 cm), hundred grain weight (2.30 g), grain yield (522 kg ha^-1), and haulm yield (1472 kg ha^-1). The lowest values for growth and yield attributes, grain yield, and haulm yield were recorded under the unweeded control (T1). Hence, the sequential application of pendimethalin followed by propaquizafop proved to be the most effective weed management strategy for enhancing the growth and productivity of green gram.